How Mitch Kupchak did this, I will never know. Orlando trade a HoF quality center, and get back… Arron Afflalo as the centerpiece? Ok, I get that they are trying to bottom out and follow the OKC model – but that not only takes a helluva lot of luck, the likelihood of someone rolling that many 7s in a row again is very, very low. It’s a foolhardy way to operate. And even if that were the intention, I still have no idea why they didn’t take the Brooklyn deal, which included 4 UNPROTECTED picks. Denver got a lot better, a lot more interesting. Philly? Get the second best center in the league, and move him into a home where he’s about an hour from where he grew up.

Still, the Lakers – some cojones, huh?Wait out Orlando, until everything else falls to pieces and it becomes evident to the Magic that they cannot start training camp with a new coach AND Dwight still under contract… and swoop in. Get their man (Howard) without having to give up too much (Gasol), and not having to take on junk (Turkoglu).The magnitude of this trade is incredible, not just on implications, but on mechanics/logistics too. Anyone who cannot see the genius (you know who you are) of Mitch Kupchak has no godly right watching basketball.

Oh. And not long after the trade goes through Jodie Meeks signed a 2 year/$3 million deal with the Lakers. A nice addition off the bench.

Sure, the current roster has a small championship window, but the team is well-situated now to make moves beyond that. And if anything has been self-evident over the past few decades, it’s LA’s willingness to “make moves”. Anyone who is worried about the Lakers post Kobe Bryant probably can measure their NBA fan-dom by months.